"I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur, thinking about how best to do the research and pull together a business model that worked," says Talbott, 31, just finishing a decade of trying all kinds of things.

"Then I found it. A fitness studio that allows women to walk away with a sense of empowerment. Helping them learn to be mentally as well as physically fit. I want to help women feel good about themselves, and in this business model, you may not even need lose weight to do that."

Her business, which opened last October at 3304-B Wrightsville Ave., is GoGirl Fitness Studio. She welcomes in women of "all shapes and sizes," and from all age groups. Despite her management degree from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her long search for launching a successful business, she has yet to zero in on revenues or pricing.

"Making a lot of money? Now wouldn't that be nice," she laughs. "But at this point I want it to be a popular, empowering success. I'm not worrying about the money at this point. This is, after all, a fairly low overhead business model."

How well she manages to pay the rent, utilities and insurance depends on how well GoGirl gets going.

"Every woman who is interested starts with a consultation with me to determine the length of the commitment they'll need to make, and the frequency of the visits. That's what pricing is based on, but it's secondary.

"This a women's gym. Our programs are taught in a small group atmosphere and utilize a dynamic body weight training system to create not just a fierce physique but a fierce self image. But each person will have a goal to meet that encourages them to give it everything they've got. No men can join: We want to do some funky things, like our Booty and Thighs exercise. It's gonna be fun. And I want the women to feel good about looking ridiculous.

"Our motto: It's not about perfection. It's about effort."

What sets her Go Girl Fitness Studio apart from the competition? Talbott lists three areas:

Form/Education: "We focus on form and safety; other places do not give you a proper warm up or cool down and they don't educate their clients on how to perform an exercise properly so if they are not doing that how can they actually cater to all fitness levels? Proper form is the most effective way to get results. Ten push-ups with good form are more effective than 100 with bad form. At GoGirl, form and safety is our number one priority.

Variety: "We draw upon a large variety of styles (from TRX to yoga and Pilates) so we recruit all the muscles in different ways. This produces a well rounded workout that helps prevent overuse, over training, boredom and injury. You will never do the same class twice (unless you come to two classes on the same day). TRX, for the uninitiated, is a suspension-band training method. You hang suspension bands from a strong anchor point and then use your body weight and different angles to perform exercises. Talbott: "It's a great core strengthener and overall a good way to switch it up from the norm. People get bored of the same old thing all the time."

Flexible schedule: Each day of the week is dedicated to a particular type of workout. Example: Monday is TRX total body, Tuesday is booty and thighs, Wednesday is Yogaerobics, Thursday is tank top arms and Friday is cardio and abs. "So," says Talbott, "all class times for that day will be dedicated to that workout. If you miss your usual time, you can come to a later class and get the same workout."

In her life, she's had her share of variety and flexibility. She actually worked in real estate for a few years right out of high school: "I was actually rather successful at it but I wasn't ready for it to be a career. I was worried I would grow sick of it."

Her mom was a special education teacher and her dad passed along the entrepreneurial bug. Dropping real estate, she went to Chapel Hill and got her degree, then started with start-ups: a catering group in Raleigh, an energy firm that retrofitted dilapidated homes in Durham and finally to Wilmington, where she lives with fiancÚ Tyler Sharkey, to help with the growth of DoorStep Produce.

Then finally she found GoGirl Fitness last fall.

"When I was in high school, I was attracted to being a very powerful woman executive," she remembers. "But everything kept morphing into the same thought: I want to be an entrepreneur who makes a difference in the marketplace."

Already she's thinking about how her new business can expand, with different sites and even personalized training service.

But for now, the GoGirl is settling down to make sure all that success that's been imagined about over the years becomes a reality. Just the way she planned it.

"If there is one thing I want my clients to walk away with it's a sense of empowerment and confidence about themselves and their lives," she says. "I want women to feel like they can accomplish anything, no matter how impossible it may seem."

<p>Leslie Talbott has been thinking about this for a long time.</p><p>Except when she's been thinking about everything else.</p><p>"I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur, thinking about how best to do the research and pull together a business model that worked," says Talbott, 31, just finishing a decade of trying all kinds of things.</p><p>"Then I found it. A fitness studio that allows women to walk away with a sense of empowerment. Helping them learn to be mentally as well as physically fit. I want to help women feel good about themselves, and in this business model, you may not even need lose weight to do that."</p><p>Her business, which opened last October at 3304-B Wrightsville Ave., is GoGirl Fitness Studio. She welcomes in women of "all shapes and sizes," and from all age groups. Despite her management degree from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her long search for launching a successful business, she has yet to zero in on revenues or pricing.</p><p>"Making a lot of money? Now wouldn't that be nice," she laughs. "But at this point I want it to be a popular, empowering success. I'm not worrying about the money at this point. This is, after all, a fairly low overhead business model."</p><p>How well she manages to pay the rent, utilities and insurance depends on how well GoGirl gets going.</p><p>"Every woman who is interested starts with a consultation with me to determine the length of the commitment they'll need to make, and the frequency of the visits. That's what pricing is based on, but it's secondary.</p><p>"This a women's gym. Our programs are taught in a small group atmosphere and utilize a dynamic body weight training system to create not just a fierce physique but a fierce self image. But each person will have a goal to meet that encourages them to give it everything they've got. No men can join: We want to do some funky things, like our Booty and Thighs exercise. It's gonna be fun. And I want the women to feel good about looking ridiculous.</p><p>"Our motto: It's not about perfection. It's about effort."</p><p>What sets her Go Girl Fitness Studio apart from the competition? Talbott lists three areas:</p><p>Form/Education: "We focus on form and safety; other places do not give you a proper warm up or cool down and they don't educate their clients on how to perform an exercise properly so if they are not doing that how can they actually cater to all fitness levels? Proper form is the most effective way to get results. Ten push-ups with good form are more effective than 100 with bad form. At GoGirl, form and safety is our number one priority.</p><p>Variety: "We draw upon a large variety of styles (from TRX to yoga and Pilates) so we recruit all the muscles in different ways. This produces a well rounded workout that helps prevent overuse, over training, boredom and injury. You will never do the same class twice (unless you come to two classes on the same day). TRX, for the uninitiated, is a suspension-band training method. You hang suspension bands from a strong anchor point and then use your body weight and different angles to perform exercises. Talbott: "It's a great core strengthener and overall a good way to switch it up from the norm. People get bored of the same old thing all the time."</p><p>Flexible schedule: Each day of the week is dedicated to a particular type of workout. Example: Monday is TRX total body, Tuesday is booty and thighs, Wednesday is Yogaerobics, Thursday is tank top arms and Friday is cardio and abs. "So," says Talbott, "all class times for that day will be dedicated to that workout. If you miss your usual time, you can come to a later class and get the same workout."</p><p>In her life, she's had her share of variety and flexibility. She actually worked in real estate for a few years right out of high school: "I was actually rather successful at it but I wasn't ready for it to be a career. I was worried I would grow sick of it."</p><p>Her mom was a special education teacher and her dad passed along the entrepreneurial bug. Dropping real estate, she went to Chapel Hill and got her degree, then started with start-ups: a catering group in Raleigh, an energy firm that retrofitted dilapidated homes in Durham and finally to Wilmington, where she lives with fiancÚ Tyler Sharkey, to help with the growth of DoorStep Produce.</p><p>Then finally she found GoGirl Fitness last fall.</p><p>"When I was in high school, I was attracted to being a very powerful woman executive," she remembers. "But everything kept morphing into the same thought: I want to be an entrepreneur who makes a difference in the marketplace."</p><p>Already she's thinking about how her new business can expand, with different sites and even personalized training service.</p><p>But for now, the GoGirl is settling down to make sure all that success that's been imagined about over the years becomes a reality. Just the way she planned it.</p><p>"If there is one thing I want my clients to walk away with it's a sense of empowerment and confidence about themselves and their lives," she says. "I want women to feel like they can accomplish anything, no matter how impossible it may seem."</p>